Off the Menu: 24 Diner

This restaurant is fairly new - a couple of years - and has proven to be a great addition to the corner of 6th and Lamar! 24 Diner is open 24-hours a day (I rarely need this, but good to know) and serve fresh and healthy meals. Their gluten-free menu is extensive and from what I've experienced they know what they are doing, which is always a huge relief. Check them out...day OR night!

CLASSICS
Breakfast Platter
Two eggs, choice of bacon, sausage or ham,
skillet fries, fresh fruit….....9.95

HASH
Homemade skillet fries, onions, jalapenos, two eggs
served with fresh fruit.

24 Hash
Cheddar, bacon, sausage…....9.95
Small…....7.95

Veggie Hash
Cheddar, mushrooms, red peppers…....9.95
Small…...7.95

Sweet Potato Hash
Sausage, Monterey Jack, poblano…....10.95
Small…...8.95

FRITTATAS
Topped with arugula and lemon vinaigrette. Served with
fresh fruit. Substitute egg whites for95¢
.
Country Ham & Gruyère
Caramelized onion…...9.95

Applewood Bacon & Cheddar
Pickled jalapenos…...9.95

Goat Cheese
Cherry tomatoes, spinach…...9.95

Feta
Cherry tomatoes, spinach, olives…...9.95

BREAKFAST SIDES
One egg*…......95¢
Applewood-smoked bacon…...3.95
Homemade breakfast sausage…...3.95
Ham…...3.95
Skillet fries…...3.95
________________________________________________________


APPETIZERS
Deviled Eggs
Bacon, smoked paprika, chives…...5.95

French Fries
House-cut potatoes, smoked aioli,
honey mustard, ketchup…...7.95

SALADS
Buttermilk, Caesar*, vinaigrettes: roasted shallot, lemon, roasted tomato.
Add pulled chicken breast for 2.95; add 6 oz. blackened tuna for 8.95.

Chopped
Romaine, turkey, chicken, country ham,
bacon, avocado, Gorgonzola, egg, tomato,
buttermilk dressing…..12.95

Caesar*
Romaine, Parmesan, anchovy, black pepper,
garlic, lemon…..10.95      Small…..6.95

Chicken Salad
Almonds, apricots, celery, red onion, ginger, mixed greens,
lemon vinaigrette served with fresh fruit…..11.95

Mixed Greens
Greens, dried cranberries, goat cheese, pistachios,
shallot vinaigrette…..10.95      Small…..6.95

Charred Bitters
Radicchio, mushrooms, Gorgonzola, walnuts,
roasted shallot vinaigrette…..12.95

ENTREES
Ribeye*
Whipped potatoes, daily vegetable…..20.95

Roasted Chicken
Half chicken, whipped potatoes,
daily vegetable, shallot jus…..13.95

Pork Chop*
Mashed sweet potatoes, bacon-braised greens,
brown sugar butter…..16.95

SIDES
Please make your server aware of gluten allergies.
24 Diner is happy to accommodate special dietary needs
with menu modifications.
House-cut fries…............................3.95      
Whipped potatoes…..3.95
Bacon-braised greens……...........3.95  
Daily vegetable…..........mkt
Mashed sweet potatoes…..........3.95

Off the Menu: Gusto Italian Kitchen

For my friend Maha's birthday bash she chose Gusto Italian Kitchen off Burnet Road - and of course made sure they had some gluten-free for me (such a great friend!).

As usual I called ahead to make sure and got an overwhelmingly confident response about their offerings and understanding of the diet. Upon arrival, I felt the same confidence from our waiter and the manager so I successfully ordered a VERY yummy pizza!

They let me know that the following items (all toppings and sauces included) can be made gluten-free so I will definitely be back - I miss Italian food and the more places I can get it the better :)

Please let your waiter know when you are ordering gluten-free and be sure to ask and make sure none of the menu options have changed.





Pastas:
Gemelli Pollo
Spinach & Three Cheese Lasagna
Rigatoni Arrabbiata
Pappardelle Bolognese
Spaghetti Carbonara
Linguine & Mussels

Pizzas:
The Italian Job
Margherita
Four Cheese
Mushroom
Soppressata
Bacon

Then of course - there are salad, cheese and side options upon request. Bon Appetit!

Off the Menu: Cover 3

Cover 3 is right down the street from both  my house and my new internship, with the added bonus of being centrally located for almost everyone! It is a great happy hour location with free wi-fi if you have business meetings.

In addition to the official gluten-free menu items listed below (from their on-site menu) you can get the hamburgers without a bun as long as you make sure to explain that it must be kept from cross-contamination.

_________________________________________________________________

Cover 3 Salad
Mixed greens, candied walnuts, sliced fuji apples & crumbled goat cheese, raspberry-dijon vinaigrette

Allendale
Baby spinach & mixed greens with brick chicken, applewood smoked bacon, dates, avocado, chopped egg, red onion, blue cheese & candied walnuts with honey-balsamic vinaigrette

Brick Chicken
Semi-boneless 1/2 chicken with classic Sicilian vinaigrette & garlic mashed potatoes

Jumbo North Atlantic Scallops
White wine & goat cheese sauce, applewood smoked bacon & toasted almonds

8oz. Filet Mignon
With gorgonzola butter & garlic mashed potatoes

Sides: sauteed spinach, seasonal vegetables

Off the Menu: Bartlett's Austin

Bartlett's is located at Anderson and Burnet and boasts a WIDE variety of gluten-free dishes. Their sandwiches have buns courtesy of Smart Flour Foods and the remainder of the menu is delicious and full. Check it out!

STARTERS & SIDES
Home Smoked Salmon without toast points    15Artichokes (when available)   13Shoestring French Fries   5Cole slaw   5Seasonal Vegetable   5Wilted Spinach   5True Idaho Baked Potato   6

Burgers and Sandwiches

All burgers and sandwiches are served without buns Add a gluten free bun from Smart Flour Foods for $1.50 CHEESEBURGER*   15 Fresh ground chuck with Cheddar, tomato, lettuce, pickles, and onion CANADIAN BURGER*   15 Canadian bacon, chopped Cheddar and onion BRENTWOOD CHICKEN SANDWICH   15 Marinated chicken breast with Jack cheese, red onion, tomato, and arugula FRESH FISH SANDWICH*   17 Grilled 6 oz fillet with leaf lettuce, tomato, red onion and our Chef's dressing + Choose: Coleslaw, French Fries or Seasonal Vegetable Salads GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD   15 Mixed greens and corn tortilla strips with honey-lime vinaigrette CLUB SALAD   15 Grilled chicken with mixed greens, smokehouse bacon, avocado, egg, and tomato SASHIMI TUNA SALAD*   MKT Pan-seared ahi tuna with cilantro-ginger vinaigrette, mixed greens, red onion, avocado, mango and tomatoes *Please specify no soy sauce ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD   19 Rotisserie chicken with avocado, mango, and herbs in Thai dressing CAESAR SALAD   10 Crisp Romaine with Reggiano and our eggless Caesar dressing TRADITIONAL SALAD   10 Mixed greens, carrots, corn, chopped egg, and smokehouse bacon +Dressings: Blue Cheese, Mustard-Honey, Buttermilk Garlic, or Vinaigrette Entrees: TODAY'S FRESH FISH*   MKT Filleted in house daily, simply grilled over hardwood, with seasonal vegetable SEASONAL VEGETABLE PLATE   17 This season's hand-selected vegetables ROTISSERIE CHICKEN   19 Half a roasted chicken with crushed herbs, served with wilted spinach DOUBLE-CUT PORK CHOP   26 Cured in-house and hardwood grilled, served with a baked potato ROASTED PRIME RIB*   33 Aged prime rib roasted on the bone, served with a baked potato *Please specify no Au Jus HAND-CUT FILET*   36 Beef tenderloin grilled over hardwood, served with wilted spinach +Caesar or Traditional Salad to accompany your entrée   6 Dessert: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream   2 Orange Chocolate Pot de Creme 5

G-Free in the City Expansion

Friends, family and followers...I've decided to expand my restaurant and community contacts outside of the city of Austin and will start soon reaching out and researching menus. There are a few reasons why I want to expand. First, as part of my MBA program I am required to do a summer internship so I could end up at a company outside of Austin (most likely actually), secondly I'm working on my official website (www.gfreeinthecity.com) that will have a nationwide mapping feature hopefully within the next 6 months or so, and finally I want to start helping others everywhere! I know that there are cities that seem to have a better grasp on gluten-free than others, these include Chicago, New York, San Francisco and San Diego so I'll hit these up later on down the line. The goal for the current list is to aim for cities where it's a little more challenging...

Please feel free to provide suggestions on other cities that you'd like to see, or send me a message if you know of restaurants that would be a good addition to the site. My goal includes at least 20 unique restaurants in the following cities:

- Seattle, WA
- Denver, CO
- Minneapolis, MN
- Columbus, OH
- Atlanta, GA
- Tampa, FL
- Phoenix, AZ
- Knoxville, TN
- Charleston, SC
- Pittsburgh, PA

Wish me luck and again feel free to send any menu pics, suggestions or lists to jaime.sutton@gmail.com!

Please Help: G-Free in the City Mobile App

Hi friends! For those of you who eat gluten-free, know someone who eats gluten-free or are pondering the lifestyle, I'm reaching out for some help. I got accepted as part of an amazing program through my MBA called 3 Day Startup.

A group of lawyers, engineers, software developers and those of us who are business minding gather to pitch entrepreneurial ideas and decide what companies we want to start in 3 days. Of the 40 original ideas, a G-Free in the City mobile and web application is one of the 4 remaining. That being said the final hurdle is proving that there is a need and desire for this to be out there.

If you follow me you know that I work hard with local restaurants to tweak their menus to be gluten-free and help them dig a little deeper to get some actual items together for me to share with others. That model can be replicated and made available in a format much easier to use than my blog.

What I need from you is to help me validate this by signing up for an email update for when the BETA version goes live if you are affected or know someone who would need this tool!! Please visit my landing page here: www.gfreeinthecity.com as soon as you can. We present to venture capitalists and local entrepreneurs on Sunday night so as much support as I can get before them is much appreciated.

Thank you and let's keep growing this community!

Gluten/Allergen Free Expo: Hit List!

So, in one day I have to hit a vendor fair of over 70 companies that I'm interested in. Because of that I did a lot of research this week to make sure I hit my top interests. I thought I'd share them with you all too in case you have any information or thoughts!

·         Kim Koeller

o   GlutenFree Passport: http://glutenfreepassport.com/

·         Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery - http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/category/blog/gluten-free-events/ Love the outreach

·         San-J – On front page of website: http://www.san-j.com/

·         Schar – great use of technology and web interaction - http://www.schar.com/us/ 

·         Living Without - http://www.livingwithout.com love it, want to learn anything and everything I can about getting involved with them 

·         Enjoy Life 

·         Happy Baby – organic baby food, focus on allergens and keeping them out – this is awesome! http://www.happybabyfood.com/

·         EZ Gluten – definitely…who knows they could be the next big thing – test strips for gluten in food - http://www.ezgluten.com/

·         Lovegrown Foods – http://www.lovegrownfoods.com/blog/ - would love to discuss their expansion plans

·         CrunchMaster – http://crunchmaster.com/health.aspx

·         Udi’s

·         Namaste Foods –  http://www.namastefoods.com/index.html

·         GF Coupons - http://www.gfcoupons.com/  anyone looking to buy them?

·         Allergy Free Foods - http://www.allergyfreefoods.com/index.php/who-we-are/meet-our-staff their CEO Kellie would be a great person to get to know…15 years in marketing and business development

·         Gluten Intolerance Group

·         The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center – what is their main focus? Awareness, testing, FDA? 

·         Natural Grocers - http://www.naturalgrocers.com/ they have a challenge on their hands, what is their marketing and business development strategy for differentiation??

·         Subway – pure curiosity, I would love to know how a non-gluten focused restaurant chain like Subway is going to make the switch

·         Dr. Stephen Wangen – Healthier Without Wheat - http://ibstreatmentcenter.blogspot.com/ Try to see him!!

The truth about salads...

There is a misunderstanding among those who do not eat gluten-free that salads are a perfect go-to to feed us when there are no other options. I have to admit, this is not always true and kind of frustrating...

First off, salads are not universally gluten-free! Lettuce is...therefore, just asking if I want a salad is not enough information. I need to know what is on that salad:

- Is there meat? If so, what kind? Most deli meats have gluten fillers and many cooked meats have seasonings or are in danger of being cross-contaminated in the kitchen

- What about cheese? Celiac patients cannot have the "moldy" cheeses so if they are sprinkled in that's a no-go

- If croutons are automatically on included (pre-packaged) then forget it; and also don't accidentally put them on and take them off because that's cross-contamination too

- Less likely, but still a concern, how did you cut up and prepare the vegetables? Did you cut something glutenous with that knife first?

- Finally....dressing. MOST dressings are NOT gluten-free. I would pretty much need to know the brand and check with them or read the label in order to feel comfortable with it. Oil & vinegar is an option but...that gets old fast.

Secondly, salads are not that good, especially with all the goodies that have to be left off from above. I understand it seems easy and safe but I mean come on...I can't eat glorified lettuce every meal of the day. The hunger comes back about 30 minutes later and I end up reaching for some plain potato chips. 

For those of you who have made this mistakes time and time again, this is not to blame you...how would you know? Please just be aware that if we do get a salad it has to be specific and if we have to spend more than one meal with you, get creative and try to provide something different next time around :)

G-Free San Antonio: Zio's Italian Kitchen

Aside from blogging, going to school for my MBA and keeping up with all of my hobbies I am also a gymnastics judge...see cuties below:

Most of the meets I judge are in San Antonio - a city full of chain restaurants. Unfortunately, we are a group and once in awhile someone or all of us will want to try something different. I did my research and found that close to the gym was a smaller chain called Zio's. We went there because WHOO gluten-free menu. 

I got the Baked Formaggio appetizer and let me say - awesome - even with the vegetables instead of bread. They do not have gluten-free pasta or bread but they will make many of the dishes with vegetables as you can see. I opted for the chicken caesar salad and was quite please. I would suggest it!

Maggiano's Austin Gluten-Free Wine Dinner

This is so cool, I'll be recruiting friends to join me!



Gluten-Free Wine Dinner September 13, 2011 6pm-9pm
Jaime,
Please join us for a Gluten-Free Wine Dinner on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 6pm in our banquet room.

Executive Chef Matt Nicholson and his team will be preparing a four-course gluten-free dinner paired with excellent wines that are also totally gluten-free.

The cost per person is $49.00. Please contact the restaurant to reserve your place at the table. 512-501-7870

We look forward to seeing you and preparing the best gluten-free wine dinner you have had!

RSVP 512-501-7870
Tuesday September 13,2011 6-9pm.

Maggiano's in the Domain Shopping Center.
Maggiano's Little Italy Austin, TX
10910 Domain Dr
Austin, TX 78758
512-501-7870

Off the Menu: Z'Tejas

Today for lunch I met a great friend of mine at Z'Tejas and found a very good gluten-free menu! If you look at the link above I've taken you to the gluten-free menus for the Arboretum location where I dined today. I've been to the 6th street location and the gluten-free menu was not as extensive, so please keep this in mind when you are choosing where to go!

G-Free Lunch Menu:
- Z'Salad (with grilled chicken or grilled shrimp)
- Grilled Fish Salad
- Smoked Chicken and Black Bean Salad
- Wild Mushroom Enchiladas
- Grilled Salmon
- Pesto Rubbed Chicken
- Sides: green chile rice, black beans and vegetable of the day
- Drinks: 6th street frozen margarita, Redbridge beer and Republic of Tea (many varieties)

I had the Pesto Rubbed Chicken with the green chile rice and vegetables and was very satisfied!

Here are the remaining menus:

Arboretum: http://austinarboretum.ztejas.com/menus/Austin-menu.html
Downtown: http://austin6thstreet.ztejas.com/menus/Austin-menu.html
Avery Ranch: http://averyranch.ztejas.com/menus/AveryRanch-menu.html

Please note you need to have updated software to see the java menus. Enjoy!